Why is distance control important when you are putting at golf? I could rephrase this question and just so well, distance control is putting; that’s the important bit. The line, it’s a bit secondary really to me because the distance when you are hitting putts controls the line to a certain extent and it definitely controls whether you are going to three putts this thing. When you are nearer to the hole direction becomes more important but from a long range putting is mainly about pace and distance control.

For more than sort of 20, 30 feet out there’re so many variations in break and surfacing consistencies, but it’s very difficult to get those putts in and that’s proven by the stats less than 10% a putt is going in from the long range even at tour level. So if my long range we are aiming to get the ball close the line but it’s that really important we get it close the length. Very rarely would you ever see somebody from this range miss a putt four feet left feet four feet right but we miss them four feet long four feet shot all day and even at the highest level you’ll see the same thing.
So distance control is the reason why you three putt, and improving your distance control is the reason why you can cut out those three putts. You’ll see all the best players in the world before they go out and play a tournament; their main priority, their main focus is distance control. Their main priority when they are reading a putt is distance control. They are reading a lot of the putts from side on, is it uphill is it downhill does it slope up does it slope down, is it up the green down the green, how is it going to react around the hole.
We often see club golfers are always seem to be interested in this, well is it an inch to the right or an inch to the left. Well if it’s an inch to the right and then you knock it six foot past the inch to the right didn’t matter because the six foot pass was the biggest priority. So distance control is the reason why you three putt, and if you want to improve the number of putts you take on the golf course distance control is the biggest priority by far.
Now I mentioned before that distance control changes the line and it does because if you’ve got a breaking putt, let’s say it’s this putt here it’s going to break six inches to the – from right to left. But if I over hit this putt it will break after it’s gone past the hole. And if I hit this putt a couple of feet short it will break much early and probably die below the hole. So the pace that I hit the ball on really does control the line it’s rolling on as well. So distance control is the biggest priority and therefore that’s the thing I want you to practice the most.
I want you to practice rolling putts at various lengths, trying to get them to the hole; yes so it goes up to the hole but also not knocking them too far past. Let’s suggest that if you hit a put between the hole and one putt is length past the hole that would be probably be the best example of good distance control. So every putt has a chance to go past the hole and therefore a chance to go in but no putt has got more than one putters length past which is the area where you might start to sort of encroach the three putts. Generally if you are good from a putter’s length away and you can hit into that putters length away, let’s call this your end zone hitting into the end zone you’re then going to have a good chance of returning the putts.
So a putt from here to this hole if I leave the putt short that’s poor distance control. If I get the putt to roll up to and just slightly back – past the hole that would be good distance control. If I get too aggressive and knock it too far past, it leaps out but then it rolls four or five foot past, that’s too far. So two shot, this second one is in the end zone and the third one has gone out of the back of the end zone. So my distance control is by far the biggest priority when putting. Improve your distance control, improve your skills.
2014-10-13

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Why is distance control important when you are putting at golf? I could rephrase this question and just so well, distance control is putting; that’s the important bit. The line, it’s a bit secondary really to me because the distance when you are hitting putts controls the line to a certain extent and it definitely controls whether you are going to three putts this thing. When you are nearer to the hole direction becomes more important but from a long range putting is mainly about pace and distance control.

For more than sort of 20, 30 feet out there’re so many variations in break and surfacing consistencies, but it’s very difficult to get those putts in and that’s proven by the stats less than 10% a putt is going in from the long range even at tour level. So if my long range we are aiming to get the ball close the line but it’s that really important we get it close the length. Very rarely would you ever see somebody from this range miss a putt four feet left feet four feet right but we miss them four feet long four feet shot all day and even at the highest level you’ll see the same thing.
So distance control is the reason why you three putt, and improving your distance control is the reason why you can cut out those three putts. You’ll see all the best players in the world before they go out and play a tournament; their main priority, their main focus is distance control. Their main priority when they are reading a putt is distance control. They are reading a lot of the putts from side on, is it uphill is it downhill does it slope up does it slope down, is it up the green down the green, how is it going to react around the hole.
We often see club golfers are always seem to be interested in this, well is it an inch to the right or an inch to the left. Well if it’s an inch to the right and then you knock it six foot past the inch to the right didn’t matter because the six foot pass was the biggest priority. So distance control is the reason why you three putt, and if you want to improve the number of putts you take on the golf course distance control is the biggest priority by far.
Now I mentioned before that distance control changes the line and it does because if you’ve got a breaking putt, let’s say it’s this putt here it’s going to break six inches to the – from right to left. But if I over hit this putt it will break after it’s gone past the hole. And if I hit this putt a couple of feet short it will break much early and probably die below the hole. So the pace that I hit the ball on really does control the line it’s rolling on as well. So distance control is the biggest priority and therefore that’s the thing I want you to practice the most.
I want you to practice rolling putts at various lengths, trying to get them to the hole; yes so it goes up to the hole but also not knocking them too far past. Let’s suggest that if you hit a put between the hole and one putt is length past the hole that would be probably be the best example of good distance control. So every putt has a chance to go past the hole and therefore a chance to go in but no putt has got more than one putters length past which is the area where you might start to sort of encroach the three putts. Generally if you are good from a putter’s length away and you can hit into that putters length away, let’s call this your end zone hitting into the end zone you’re then going to have a good chance of returning the putts.
So a putt from here to this hole if I leave the putt short that’s poor distance control. If I get the putt to roll up to and just slightly back – past the hole that would be good distance control. If I get too aggressive and knock it too far past, it leaps out but then it rolls four or five foot past, that’s too far. So two shot, this second one is in the end zone and the third one has gone out of the back of the end zone. So my distance control is by far the biggest priority when putting. Improve your distance control, improve your skills.